Smart Adornment to Collect All Notes with Incoming Links

Q & A - getting started with Tinderbox
1

I’m not sure whether what I’m asking for is possible, but here goes…

I’m currently using TBX Map view to manage my tasks. One of the things I want to do in TBX is use a smart adornment to gather all tasks that I can’t do right now because I need to complete another task first. To show this dependency in TBX, I have created a basic *untitled link from Task 1 to Task 2. In OmniFocus parlance, Task 2 isn’t “available” until Task 1 is complete. Once I have completed Task 1, then Task 2 should no longer be inside the smart adornment.

My TBX set-up is as follows:

  • All tasks that aren’t completed are in the /Tasks & Events container.
  • Once a task is checked off/completed, it gets moved to the /Completed Tasks container.

I’ve tried using linkedFrom in the smart adornment’s Query field to collect the incomplete tasks with inbound links, but I can’t figure out whether you can limit the scope of linkedFrom to evaluate as true if Task 1 is still in the /Tasks & Events container (meaning it hasn’t been completed).

So, if anyone has a suggestion for how to get this to work or to let me know that it’s not actually possible, I’d appreciate it.

2

Oh, do I have a lot of ideas for you.

The question, is there a reason why you’re focussed on the Map View for managing your tasks? Do you ever work in Outline view?

Also, I think you’ll be better suited using attributes to manage your dependences rather than links (or use both). Give me 20 min, and I’ll pull something together for you.

3

The reason I’m using map view is because I’m essentially using TBX to visualize the list of tasks that I keep in OmniFocus as well as the appointments that are in my calendar. I’m using links because they’re visual. Below is a screenshot of what my map currently looks like.

CleanShot 2023-01-31 at 15.56.35@2x
CleanShot 2023-01-31 at 15.56.35@2x1920×3140 164 KB

Having said that, I’m also using the attribute view to show Urgent Tasks, Short Tasks, Completed Tasks, etc.

4

Hey there, I’m still playing around with this, but this is where I’ve gotten so far.

TBX L - Basic Task Management with Dependencies.tbx (332.6 KB)

I have

  • the tasks moving in and out of the folder when they’re completed.
  • dependency linking works and attribute auto-populating to show this

My next step would be to have the action code remove the dependency from another note’s attribute when a prerequisite is not complete. It is doable, but I’ve run out of time right now. Hopefully, you’ll find some valuable ideas in here

5

Thanks, Michael. It was helpful to see your file. Since I don’t need links preserved when a task is completed, I decided maybe I would try removing the link from the completed task when it’s completed. This works, but I ran into the bug posted by @PaulWalters over in this thread:

i.e., If I’m in Map View and set $Checked to true (which also fires unlinkTo), TBX crashes. It doesn’t crash if I go into outline view, select the note, and set $Checked to true.

Edit: @eastgate, I’m attaching a simple TBX file that crashes as stated above. I’m not sure how to get the crash log:

Test File.tbx (110.9 KB).

6

I’ll take a look! Big backlog after pneumonia and covid, but still: this shouldn’t be happening. @mwra: crash log retrieval instructions?

7

Thanks, @eastgate. I emailed you the crash log. For what it’s worth, I was able to stop the crashing by putting a “delay” into my Edict:

if($Checked==true & $EndDate=="never"){
	$EndDate=date(now);
	$Container="/Completed";
	var vNum(0);
	while(vNum<1000){
		vNum=vNum+1;
	};
	unlinkTo(all,"*");
};
8

Using OS X Finder to locate Crash and Hang logs.

9

Yes: the link is being deleted while the link animator is trying to draw it. I’ll see what can be done to sort this out.

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10

Tinderbox 9.5.2 (and backstage releases b600 and later) won’t be afflicted by this problem.

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